Let's Take a Vacation!

Let’s take a break from my normal life story to dive into the details of the thirteen wondrous summer vacations of my life. (That’s right, I’ve only had thirteen. But for the record, the first one lasted five years). Ah, the glorious feeling of freedom after that final school bell! It’s like waking up from a horrible dream that seemed to drag on for ages. Well, it’s time to embrace those priceless life qualities found only in a summer break, consisting of 3 PM wake-up calls, hours of mind-numbing television, and of course the numerous complaints of unbearable boredom.
But of course, these already tantalizing concepts are not all that entailed my unforgettable experience. How could I forget the great adventures we had around the states? My first memorable experience was a trip to New York. I vaguely remember the drive there, because we passed by the Smoky Mountains. (I’d always thought the mountains would be steeper, but I’d been mistaken). The last day of the drive, we apparently got lost, and I had a strange but interesting visual of us having to sleep with the wolves. When we finally got there, I said, “Okay, nobody wake me until 9 o’clock.” …I’d love to be able to wake up that early nowadays. Anyway, we arrived at my Grandma Chavanne’s house. I don’t remember a lot about that trip except that I’d learned to fish for the first time in her pond, which was loaded with catfish. Dillon, Dad, and I each managed to catch one, and Mom buried them in the ground, telling me that they would help the garden grow. Again, my imagination got the better of me and as we left, I swore I’d come back to see the fish-head tree when it was full-grown.
Many years later, summer 2006 to be exact, we went back to New York one more time. The visit there was much more memorable, particularly the journey there when the food became noticeably better the farther north we drove. Our first stop was the beautiful Niagara Falls, which is incidentally about as close to outside the border as I’ve ever gone (excluding Belize). After that, we visited my grandmother again, and we went sailing on Oneida Lake! One day, we went to the Herkemer Diamond mine where we collected small diamonds and got to keep them as souvenirs! A few of my cousins from Pennsylvania also came to visit, and we all got to hang out together!
There were also many summers when we went to Tampa Bay, Florida, to visit Grandma and Grandpa O’Hara. They lived right next to the bay, so we went fishing all the time. In New York, I learned how to fish. In Florida, I learned how to fish the right way. We even got to visit the Gulf of Mexico and go swimming there! And of course, my first visit to Florida also became my first visit to Disneyworld! I went to Typhoon Lagoon, which had the best wave pool I’ve seen in my entire life! (Seriously, the little kids had to hold on to rubber buoys in the shallow end just so they wouldn’t get sucked under). We even visited the Animal Kingdom and that giant castle you see at the beginning of every Disney movie! I even got to meet Mickey Mouse! (There was a rumor that it was only a guy in a costume, but the evidence was inconclusive).
My last trip to Florida actually started off as a National Youth Gathering the summer after my Sophomore Year. That was an awesome week-long experience, where we got to hang around a huge hotel plaza and witness the biggest thunderstorms I have ever seen in my life! (As a big fan of thunderstorms, it was quite a thrill.) During the day, we would gather with Lutheran youth groups from around the nation to worship and sing. At the end of the week, my youth group went to MGM studios for the day. When everyone was going home, I stuck around with my family to visit my grandparents again.
Then, of course, we had those memorable visits to my hometown: Chicago, Illinois. We had some great reunions with some of my parents’ friends. The most prominent of these people was Uncle Todd, who isn’t actually my uncle but a great friend of my dad’s. We would hang out at his house for a while and also see some great Major-league baseball games! And of course, what’s a trip to Chicago without visiting the famed Sears Tower and Navy Pier? With ship rides, ice cream, and all the hot dogs you can eat, not to mention the wonderful family reunions, Chicago was always a great place to be.
However, our most frequent vacation was a trip to Branson, Missouri! There was always something to do there. White Water Rapids was always a wonderful water park in the middle of summer. And you can’t even think of leaving without visiting Silver Dollar City at least once. Silver Dollar City spurred my gradual appreciation of roller coasters… But for the record, I’ve still never ridden the Wildfire. (Don’t tell anybody). And the comedian to see was Yakov Schmirnov! If you haven’t heard of him, look him up. His antics were funny whether you were a kid or a grumpy old man!
Now, one of the most special places I’ve visited recently is a place most of you have probably heard of: Camp Barnabas. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a special needs camp in Purdue, Missouri, designed to give kids a great experience that they can’t normally get anywhere else. With a little persuasion from Jon and my class, I agreed to volunteer there with them for a week. We started out with a day and a half of training, followed by the opportunity to choose which child we would sponsor. Then the kids would arrive, and we would make sure to give them the best week of their lives! My kid’s name was Blake Gonnerman. Now, I was already nervous about messing up, but Blake happened to be quite a handful. I won’t get into detail, but by day 3, I was ready to leave. Oddly enough, he was in love with Veggietales, and I just so happened to know almost all of the Veggietales songs. I even began writing a story (which I was unable to finish unfortunately) about a meteor named Wonderfall. Everyone told me I was meant to be with this kid, which quite honestly didn’t help my mood at all. But looking back on it, I’m pretty sure it was true. If I could do it again, which I plan to this summer, I would do it in a heartbeat. After the week finished, our group stopped by Trout Lodge for a couple days to relax, and then we headed home. That was one of the best experiences of my life.
Oh, I almost forgot! There’s a camp I’ve been to almost every year since Third Grade called Camp Lutherhoma. It’s a Lutheran church camp in Tahlequah, about an hour and a half from Wright. The area there is wonderful (though there’s a considerable amount of debris at the moment). The main area is a large field with a Friendship Tree in the middle. Theimer Hall is in front of the tree, and the cafeteria is beyond it. Behind the cafeteria is the Illinois River, where we have canoe races and campfires (by the side of the river, of course). There are other fields as well, and the camp is a wonderful place to stay for a week to worship and enjoy nature. I’ve got a lot of memories there, but I may write about that another time.
Whew! I’ve been to more places than I thought. Summer vacation sure is eventful. So, these are the highlights of all the in-betweens of school. These wonderful weeks have always made summer vacation as enjoyable and eventful as they can be. They also make me look forward to all the exciting summer vacations to come… Just remember, don’t wake me till 3.